Victoria, BC – Two Victoria men are in custody facing drug, weapons and breach of conditions charges after three Strike Force (SF) operations targeting drug dealers and guns. The investigations were conducted over five months and included three files. They led to the seizure of loaded handguns, modified firearms, body armour, ammunition, and drugs, including fentanyl.

“I am incredibly proud of the excellent work our Strike Force, our Community Services Division, and the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team are doing to get deadly drugs like fentanyl and guns out of the hands of criminals,” Chief Del Manak said. “The firearms seized through these efforts, including loaded handguns and an assault-style rifle modified to include a silencer, shows the risk that these individuals pose to our community and the vital need for these types of operations.”

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Working on information from the public, SF officers began an investigation into one of the men in October, 2019. Utilizing a variety of investigative techniques such as covert surveillance, investigators gathered information, including evidence that the suspect was in possession of a firearm. On November 20th, 2019 SF officers, with the assistance of Community Services Division (CSD) and Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) officers, executed a search warrant at a residence in a multi-unit residential building in the 1000-block of Tillicum Road. Two vehicles operated by the suspect were included in the search.

Officers recovered drugs including cocaine and fentanyl.

Officers also discovered a loaded 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun in a false compartment in one of the vehicles.

Officers are recommending six charges including possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, possession of stolen property, breach of court-ordered conditions, and possession of a prohibited or restricted weapon. The vehicles are being submitted for consideration for civil forfeiture.

This file is still under investigation and charges have not yet been sworn.

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A second Victoria man was arrested and remains in custody after SF and GVERT officers executed search warrants in a drug trafficking and firearms investigation on January 9th, 2020.

Officers arrested the male suspect in the 700-block of Topaz Avenue on January 9th. Officers searched the man and recovered several ounces of fentanyl, cash and a loaded handgun.

GVERT and SF officers then proceeded to a multi-unit residential building in the 2600-block of Cook Street. This location was related to the man arrested earlier that day. A woman who was in the suite was taken into custody without incident. Officers discovered more weapons, ammunition, and additional firearms, including a modified assault-style rifle equipped with a home-made silencer. Several more ounces of fentanyl and other drugs were also discovered.

The execution of an additional search warrant in the 700-block of Topaz Avenue revealed more ammunition and another loaded handgun.

In this file, officers seized four firearms including an air-powered pistol, two loaded handguns and the modified, assault-style rifle with home-made silencer.

Jordan Cody Moreland faces charges for drug possession for the purpose of trafficking as well as several weapons offences. He remains in custody.

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The following day, on January 10th, 2020, working on information from previous investigations and from the public, SF investigators continued an additional investigation into one of the men. Officers again utilized surveillance and other investigative techniques to determine that a firearm was believed to be in the suspect’s residence. SF, CSD and GVERT officers executed a search warrant for a unit in a multi-unit residential building in the 1000-block of Tillicum Road. The road was closed to traffic out of an abundance of caution. Officers located a loaded .40 calibre handgun and body armour in the residence.

The suspect was transported to VicPD cells.

Andrew Brian Ritch, a 36-year-old Victoria man, faces recommended charges including possession of a restricted weapon, firearms possession, possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition, possession of body armour and possession in contrary to a court order.

About Strike Force
Strike Force is a focused investigative unit in the Victoria Police Department. Strike Force officers use cutting-edge investigative techniques including clandestine surveillance, undercover operations and confidential information to identify, target and arrest some of the most dangerous offenders in Victoria and Esquimalt. Strike Force officers are focused on getting fentanyl and guns off our streets. Many Strike Force investigations are sparked by tips from people worried about guns and drugs like fentanyl.

Strike Force officers are already working on their next investigation.

If you have information about those selling dangerous drugs in our community, you can call the Strike Force line directly call (250) 995-7260. Otherwise you are asked to call our non-emergency line at (250) 995-7654. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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Victoria, BC – Two Victoria men are in custody facing drug, weapons and breach of conditions charges after three Strike Force (SF) operations targeting drug dealers and guns. The investigations were conducted over five months and included three files. They led to the seizure of loaded handguns, modified firearms, body armour, ammunition, and drugs, including fentanyl.

“I am incredibly proud of the excellent work our Strike Force, our Community Services Division, and the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team are doing to get deadly drugs like fentanyl and guns out of the hands of criminals,” Chief Del Manak said. “The firearms seized through these efforts, including loaded handguns and an assault-style rifle modified to include a silencer, shows the risk that these individuals pose to our community and the vital need for these types of operations.”

19-46747
Working on information from the public, SF officers began an investigation into one of the men in October, 2019. Utilizing a variety of investigative techniques such as covert surveillance, investigators gathered information, including evidence that the suspect was in possession of a firearm. On November 20th, 2019 SF officers, with the assistance of Community Services Division (CSD) and Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) officers, executed a search warrant at a residence in a multi-unit residential building in the 1000-block of Tillicum Road. Two vehicles operated by the suspect were included in the search.

Officers recovered drugs including cocaine and fentanyl.

Officers also discovered a loaded 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun in a false compartment in one of the vehicles.

Officers are recommending six charges including possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, possession of stolen property, breach of court-ordered conditions, and possession of a prohibited or restricted weapon. The vehicles are being submitted for consideration for civil forfeiture.

This file is still under investigation and charges have not yet been sworn.

20-1025
A second Victoria man was arrested and remains in custody after SF and GVERT officers executed search warrants in a drug trafficking and firearms investigation on January 9th, 2020.

Officers arrested the male suspect in the 700-block of Topaz Avenue on January 9th. Officers searched the man and recovered several ounces of fentanyl, cash and a loaded handgun.

GVERT and SF officers then proceeded to a multi-unit residential building in the 2600-block of Cook Street. This location was related to the man arrested earlier that day. A woman who was in the suite was taken into custody without incident. Officers discovered more weapons, ammunition, and additional firearms, including a modified assault-style rifle equipped with a home-made silencer. Several more ounces of fentanyl and other drugs were also discovered.

The execution of an additional search warrant in the 700-block of Topaz Avenue revealed more ammunition and another loaded handgun.

In this file, officers seized four firearms including an air-powered pistol, two loaded handguns and the modified, assault-style rifle with home-made silencer.

Jordan Cody Moreland faces charges for drug possession for the purpose of trafficking as well as several weapons offences. He remains in custody.

20-1177
The following day, on January 10th, 2020, working on information from previous investigations and from the public, SF investigators continued an additional investigation into one of the men. Officers again utilized surveillance and other investigative techniques to determine that a firearm was believed to be in the suspect’s residence. SF, CSD and GVERT officers executed a search warrant for a unit in a multi-unit residential building in the 1000-block of Tillicum Road. The road was closed to traffic out of an abundance of caution. Officers located a loaded .40 calibre handgun and body armour in the residence.

The suspect was transported to VicPD cells.

Andrew Brian Ritch, a 36-year-old Victoria man, faces recommended charges including possession of a restricted weapon, firearms possession, possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition, possession of body armour and possession in contrary to a court order.

About Strike Force
Strike Force is a focused investigative unit in the Victoria Police Department. Strike Force officers use cutting-edge investigative techniques including clandestine surveillance, undercover operations and confidential information to identify, target and arrest some of the most dangerous offenders in Victoria and Esquimalt. Strike Force officers are focused on getting fentanyl and guns off our streets. Many Strike Force investigations are sparked by tips from people worried about guns and drugs like fentanyl.

Strike Force officers are already working on their next investigation.

If you have information about those selling dangerous drugs in our community, you can call the Strike Force line directly call (250) 995-7260. Otherwise you are asked to call our non-emergency line at (250) 995-7654. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Scary stuff. Possible response points for Lisa, Ben and Jerry: "People don't just buy body armour and assault rifles with silencers for no reason. More police isn't the answer; we need to reduce the poverty that makes people so desperate that they need silencers."

The victim of credit-card fraud in Nanaimo turned up with a baseball bat to get the card back from the suspects, after tracking down where it was being used, police say.

That’s “never a good idea,” said Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien.

Police are looking for a man and woman who allegedly used the stolen card to commit fraud.

The victim told police that his wallet had been stolen from his unlocked vehicle on Sunday, but he did not report the theft and was monitoring his credit card for fraudulent transactions.

O’Brien said that was also ill-advised.

“If your wallet is stolen and it contains credit cards, you should always call your credit-card company to cancel them, and call the police to report the theft.”

The victim decided to take matters into his own hands after receiving notification that the card had been used Monday at a Co-op and then Tuesday at a 7-Eleven. He drove to the 7-Eleven with the bat and spoke to an employee, who said two people who had used the card were sitting in a vehicle parked in the store’s lot.

The victim approached with the bat, but the vehicle drove off. He followed and watched as two people were dropped off nearby, then called police.

There is definitely a largely unreported scenario developing in the downtown core, one which sees repeat instances of bold and unrestricted entry into many businesses by thieves or those with mental health issues, and which threatens those (often quite young) employees who work in those businesses.

My daughter works downtown in an large, successful restaurant on the Gov't St tourist crawl, and they deal with aggressive entry into their restaurant by troublemakers and the mentally ill, interlopers who fear nothing, and fear no one - this on a daily basis.

There is simply no disputing that the developing and seemingly overarching COV policy position that quite clearly indicates an intent to shift basic law enforcement and security for downtown business from the Victoria Police Department over to the business owner/operator.

It's an almost unbelievable scenario, one which might ask why there isn't a very strong and very public DVBA protest against what can only be seen as a City and its Police Department intentionally abrogating their legislated responsibility to serve and protect.

« one which might ask why there isn't a very strong and very public DVBA protest against what can only be seen as a City and its Police Department intentionally abrogating their legislated responsibility to serve and protect.«

^^this!!!!!

But then again look at San Francisco... they are further down this path than we are and they are still sitting quietly taking it.... in a country where litigation is second nature, nothing is happening to correct the situation there... i wonder how bad things will have to get before people start speaking up....

San Francisco is actually a great example of what happens when a City abrogates their responsibility for a certain geographical portion of their town.

San Francisco City Hall and PD generally handed over the Tenderloin district to the dregs of society during World War 2, and it's now basically a war zone, with one of the highest crime rates in California, and is an area that even the police department avoids for anything short of a murder.

There being no "hard borders" for this kind of scenario, the issues don't stop at the geographical boundaries of the "Tenderloin District" - as any tourist to San Francisco can likely vouch.

So we now have Lo-Jo as the City of Victorias nascent Tenderloin, and Council and the Police Department deal with it by abrogating.

To be fair, the 800 and 900 blocks of Pandora might better represent the CoV version of the "tenderloin; at the very least this area is fast becoming the local take on Vancouver's downtown eastside.

Very true, and with Centennial Square, and the 600 and 700 Blocks of Pandora and Johnson, they've got a nice little transit route to join up the 800-900 Block right down to Lo-Jo, a route that never see's any cops walking a beat, and one that most residents and workers downtown now very studiously avoid using to get from one place to another during the day or night.

As an aside, when was the last time you saw a cop walking the beat in downtown Victoria?

I'm pretty sure such norms are restricted to summertime and the tourist season and tourist zones?

I guess yet one more example of abrogation of what is perceived as a normal police undertaking - that being walking the sidewalks in front of local businesses in order to establish the presence of law and order in what would otherwise very quickly become a Wild West zone.

"People don't just buy body armour and assault rifles with silencers for no reason. More police isn't the answer; we need to reduce the poverty that makes people so desperate that they need silencers."

I guess we're lucky that those guys have never been motivated to use any of that gear for any reason. All just for show, thankfully. And I guess we're also lucky that those guys were independent operators, working for and reporting to no one but themselves, rather than being mere bottom-feeders in a much larger criminal food chain.

Just another one-off incident. Whew, that's a relief. I'm sure we'd be informed ASAP if we had any reason to be concerned about the broader implications of these sorts of stories.